Fits and Grumbles
by Luckie D
Summary: Maria and John have a fight and spend some a few hours apart to calm their nerves down. JM/OFC


**6/1/08-I knew that I would have to do a story of the two having an argument. Sooner or later I would have to do this. So, here is it. I actually have two planned out, but that one is later on. I own nothing except Maria Frank. She is my creation. **

Fits and Grumbles

Silence was the only thing heard during the ride home. Fin had not bothered to make conversation with the two frowning detectives sitting in his car. Maria was staring out the front window, arms crossed over her chest. John was sitting behind Fin and scolding out the passenger window beside him.

_God, I hate these types of cases,_ Fin thought as he shook his head when he pulled up to Maria's building. The latest case was causing massive stress among the detectives. Elliot and Olivia were bickering at each other at every possible moment.

These two, however, were snipping and glaring at each other. Having the usual stress fights. They were not even be in the same room together for the past twelve hours, let alone talk to each other about anything besides the case.

Maria got out of the car and stormed off in the building. Before Fin could even ask, John got out of the car and followed her in.

_Don't kill each other. I don't want to clean up that mess,_ he thought once again as he drove off into the night.

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Unlocking the door to her apartment, she held the door open for him to go in before she followed.

"Thanks." He glowered as he hung his coat up on the rack.

"No problem." First place she headed was to the kitchen, trying not to look at John along the way. After filling Ace's food and water, she placed her hands on the either side of her kitchen sink and stared into it. Moments after staring into the silver sink, she heard a loud thud that made her heart jump in shock.

Slowly looking out to the dining room table, she could see that John had pounded the table top with his fist. It was his way to express his frustration with any difficult case. He would never lay a finger on her, she knew that, but the table had no feelings. But she still felt shaken up little from the sudden action.

"John?"

He turned his glaring face and looked right at her. She had a very blank look on her face. Their views on the entire case were different.

"What?" He quietly snapped at her. She grind her teeth at his tone. "_What_ do you want?"

"Nothing. I just want to make sure that you're alight. But..you don't have to do that." Her face was still blank.

"Do _what_?" He snapped has his voice rose a little.

"Snap at me like that. You didn't have to do that." Her voice started to rise, but remained steady. She didn't want to show fear to him.

"Oh, Jesus. Here we go again. You're doing that again!" He glared at her, seeing her flinch just a little at his rising tone.

"Jesus, John! Do you have to question it when I say that? I know that you're frustrated and I want to help you. But I can't if you won't let me." She held her hands out in gesturing to him.

"Why do you want to help me?!" He got up and stood over her, staring down at her. She visibly flinched as if he was going to hit her.

"Because I hate seeing you like this! I hate seeing you get frustrated and angry over a case just because of our differences!" She stood her ground in front of him.

"If you hate seeing me like this, you _should_ have go back to Boston!" He knew _that _was going to hurt her inside.

She thought of her own little comeback. "Maybe you should have stayed in Baltimore, _banging_ your many girlfriends!" She got close to him face and hissed her next statement. "So I would have to never see _you_ again."

She had hit that button. is face went red and she could see that nerve pop in anger.

"Good! You should have died at Kevin's hand so you could be with them in the big blue sky! Save all the hours I spent caring for you!" He got closer to her face this time. "Save your suffering and mine! You and Ace!"

They stood here. Glaring at each other for the longest ten minutes of their lives.

She had _had _enough. "Just go home, John! Go home and cool the fuck down! Go nail a hooker for all I care. Get your stress out! Just get out of my face. Now!" She was fighting to keep those tears in. She was hurt and he knew it. Both were still armed with their weapons. Whenever she said that last sentence, it was a sign for a perp to sit back down before she got physical. Who knew if she was going to physical with him.

Letting out a long sigh, he grabbed his coat and left.

"damn it, John. Why do you do that?" She growled as she went to empty her dishwasher. She had no idea that the tears were falling until a few fell onto the plates she was putting away. Shoving the plates into the cupboard, she slide to the tile floors, tears freely flowing. Ace came around the hallway corner and sat in front of her. He had been hiding in the bedroom when he sense the fight starting. Now, he knew his master needed him.

"He doesn't mean it, Ace." She looked over her arms to look at the him. Ace let out a small whine as if not believing her. "He never means it."

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He found himself walking home in the cold. He could have cared less. He deserved the cold. He knew that she had been hurt by what he had said an by how he has his tone.

Angry men made her tremble in fear. It was a deep issue that she feared of getting hit as her father had a very short temper. She visibly flinch when Elliot, Fin or even himself snapped at each other or perps. She was able to hold her ground when dealing with a suspect until after she left the interrogation room.

Entering his apartment, he suddenly missed her. But she was right. He had to cool down before even speaking to her again.

Looking into his fridge, he pulled a cold beer out and popped the lid. Taking a long swig, he knew what he had to do first. Emptying the beer bottle, he pulled his cell phone out and hit speed dial. He had to call Fin.

He mentally promised that he would cool down before calling her, but he wanted her to be checked on. Her relationship with her hard alcohol was not kind.

"Tutuola."

"It's Munch. Maria and I had a small fight and I just want you to check on her. I don't want her to do anything _stupid_."

"Sure man. How long do you want me to be there?"

He thought for a brief moment before replying. "Stay with her until I call."

"That I can do."

After Fin hung up, John sat himself down on the couch and proceeded to flip through channels. Stopping on the Discovery Channel, he saw it was a program on Amelia Earhart.

_I'm so sorry baby. I didn't mean it, _he thought as the tears started to fall down his face.

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Now sitting on her couch and staring at her glass of Brandy, the sound of her apartment buzzer going off barely reached her ears. Until the fourth buzz sounded and it did not for a whole minute.

Slightly stumbling to the intercom, she hit the button. "Who is it?"

"It's Fin. Can I come up?"

"Did _he_ send you?" She knew what the answer was before Fin even replied.

"Yeah, he did. He just wants me to make sure that you don't take a dunk into the alcohol."

She looked down at the glass of brandy in her hand. "Too late, Fin." She spoke softly.

"Please, baby. Let me in or I'll continue to buzz you until you do."

"Alright, fine." Hitting the unlock button, she sat back down on the couch until Fin entered.

"I knew you to would do that. From what you two have been doing at work, I knew that would result in a yelling war." He sat down on the edge of the couch and watched her take a sip of her alcohol.

"How long are you staying?"

"Until he calls. He told me that, in between his beer consuming."

She gave a small chuckle and swirled her drink around. "That might be all night for all I know."

"What do you mean?"

"I told him to nail a hooker." She stopped and chewed on her bottom lip. "I hope he doesn't take that seriously."

Fin took his chance for being hit by her as he scooted closer. "He won't. He knows better then that. Since you came back, he seems to have gotten better. Attitude-wise."

Placing her glass on the coffee table, she bowed her head and cried. "I never meant what I said. I just had enough."

"Hey, hey. I've done that before myself. With my ex, we fought all the time and said things we never meant. We got divorced anyway."

Her voice was now down to a whisper as she talked into her hands. "We're not married, but I don't want to loose him."

"You won't, baby. I know you won't." Fin took his chance to wrap his arm around her shoulders, allowing her to cry openly.

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Two beers later, John had almost drowned his emotions before stopping himself. He didn't want to call her in a drunken state. After many silent tears and slight swearing at himself, he could feel himself calming down.

Loosening his tie, John flipped back to the discovery channel for the ending of the program. _I wonder if she knew her favorite program was on, _he thought before his eyes traveled to the cell phone, sitting on the table.

He wanted to call her, but not yet. _Maybe in a few hours. _He flipped to another channel.

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Tears were no longer falling from the green eyes. They were now filled with utter anger as she started releasing her thoughts to the lone man in her apartment. Fin did not bother to stop Maria from pacing around her living room. She was almost to the point of yelling her lungs out.

"It's always like this! Every case that we see differently on, we get in each others faces and we just snap! Last month, he got angry with the maintenance guys and they did nothing wrong! This time, it's me that has his fur all in a ruff!" She stopped to take another sip of her brandy before refilling it. "This case, I believe the victim and he believes the suspect! We clash like lions and hyenas! On the same team, but see different views! Fin, don't you dare take my brandy!"

She pointed one angry finger at the black man who was trying to slip the glass from her hands when she was not looking. He gave her the best hard look he could muster, thinking she would calm down a little, but it didn't work.

She swore at him when he strongly pulled the glass from her hand. "Fuck you, Fin!" She snapped as he headed to the kitchen to put the drink down the drain.

When he returned to the living room, she was crying on the floor, hidden in the dark corner.

_Come on, Munch. Call her. She needs you,_ he thought as he sat beside her on the floor.

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"I have to call her. I have to call her." He thought out loud to himself as he held the cell phone in his hands. He knew fully of what she was doing. She was almost hammered and Fin had to calm her down. He had seen her when she was a silly drunk and an angry drunk. He had seen what angry drunk is and it's not very pleasant.

Flipping the phone open, he mentally knew the four hours of calming down had to be good enough. He had to call her. He pressed the speed dial.

"Frank residence. Tutuola speaking."

"It's Munch. How's she doing?"

Fin looked over at Maria. She was sitting cross legged in the corner. Her tear stained face made her look like a mentally ill person who just hit the lowest point in her life. "Since she stopped drinking, she's been crying. For three and a half hours, man. She misses you."

"And it's only been four hours. Does she know that what I said, I didn't mean."

"Why don't you speak to her yourself." Fin sounded sympathetic as he handed the phone to Maria before sitting down beside her.

"What?" She glowered into the phone. Her voice sounded rough to John.

"It...It's me. John." He could feel his heart pounding through his shirt.

"Oh, hey. Got that hooker?" She glanced at Fin, who could feel the tension radiating from her.

"No, I'm not going to do that to you." He slumped back in his couch.

"That's good to hear."

"I know. Moving back to Boston? Like I had suggested?"

"No, I won't do that to you, either." She let out a rigid sigh, the tears starting to fall again.

"Can I come over now? Please?" He bit his bottom lip and closed his eyes. He prayed for a good answer.

There was silence on the other end for a while. "Sure. You can come over."

"I'll be right over. Don't let Fin leave yet."

Closing her phone, she looked at Fin and they both waited until the heard the buzzer sound.

As soon as Fin had hit the button, John was standing in her doorway.

"I'm so sorry, baby. I really am." He panted as Fin slide past them. He knew the he had to leave them alone as they had to get it back together themselves.

Tears were falling from her eyes again as she fell into his arms. "I'm so sorry. That comment about your girlfriends and everything else? I didn't mean it."

John held her close and nuzzled the top of her head. He could smell the strong scent of brandy on her. "I know you didn't. I didn't mean what I said to you either. I love you too much to mean for you to leave."

"I do, too." Her voice sounded rough, yet quiet to him as he trailed small kissed down her face before resting his chin on top of her head.

The both held on to each other, glad that this fight was behind them.

-End!

**6/7/08-That was a little better then I thought. Read and review if you wish.**


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